Quote Stuffing in Michael Kors Holdings ($KORS)

On February 14, 2012 at 10:48am, someone stuffed KORS with quotes from multiple exchanges at rates exceeding 18,000 quotes/sec. What is the purpose of blasting hundreds of thousands of quotes to millions of computers around the world in a single stock that had a few hundred trades at the time? Why is this tolerated?

→ Nanex

To Regulate Rapid Traders, S.E.C. Turns to One of Them

With the Tradeworx program, the agency will gain access to every bid to buy stocks and every offer to sell shares on each of the nation’s 13 public exchanges. The system, akin to an X-ray machine for the stock market, could enable regulators to detect whether trading firms are overwhelming the market’s plumbing when they rapidly submit and cancel orders.

→ New York Times

Subprime Gains 30% as Goldman, Cerberus Target Market

Growing interest in a diminishing asset has bolstered a rally that’s pushed returns on subprime-backed securities to almost 30 percent this year. Cerberus Capital Management LP and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) are among firms that have raised money for new funds targeting the bonds, as investors speculate on the real-estate recovery or seek to earn higher returns as the Fed pushes yields on safer debt to record lows.

→ Bloomberg